


sparks

by 101places



Series: swtor verse [4]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Darth Occlus - Freeform, Gen, Jedi, Jedi Critical, Sith, Star Wars: The Old Republic - Shadow of Revan, cross-faction friendship, i really should go into detail abt lyns hot jedi takes some time bc she has a lot, like just a little bit though, she just wont give them to a sith she (currently) doesnt know very well dfhdfsh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:46:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27727024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/101places/pseuds/101places
Summary: Darth Occlus gives the Barsen'thor a lesson.( AKA : i take the concept of legacy heroic moment and run with it )
Relationships: Female Jedi Consular | Barsen'thor & Female Sith Inquisitor, Female Jedi Consular | Barsen'thor & Yuon Parr, Jedi Consular | Barsen'thor & Sith Inquisitor, Jedi Consular | Barsen'thor & Yuon Parr
Series: swtor verse [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1919299
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	sparks

**Author's Note:**

> so i finished my inquisitor's class story recently (love that story btw, v good story) and i unlocked the inquisitor heroic moment attack. i thought it was really funny to make my light v consular shoot lightning at her enemies, so i ended up thinking about where she might learn something like that, and this is what i came up with
> 
> i want to write more with my inquisitor at some point, but i'll probably want to finish at least ilum, hutt cartel & shadow of revan on her before i do anything focusing on her primarily. she's cool though & she's gay for ashara
> 
> anyway, comments / kudos make me feel like im using force lightning for the first time

Working with Sith wasn’t something that had come naturally to the Barsen’thor, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and so here she was, on Yavin, practically surrounded by them.

Still, she had begun to grow used to it. Getting to know them as individuals - as _Lana Beniko_ and _Darth Marr_ and _Darth Occlus_ instead of just the order they were part of had gone a long way towards that. She still had her memories of Sith she had fought in the past, but the Barsen’thor had always been talented at flexible thinking. When new information presented itself, she changed her opinion to match.

So she allowed the flutter in her chest when Lana stood a touch closer to her than was necessary. She allowed the blooming respect she felt towards Darth Marr. And she allowed her curiosity towards Darth Occlus.

Yes, they were Sith. But they were also three pragmatic individuals who had a similar way of seeing the galaxy to the Barsen’thor. What did it matter that they were Sith and she was a Jedi? If they had been born on opposite sides of this war, there would be no issue in positive feelings towards them.

This thought was how she found herself trailing behind Darth Occlus in the forest, instead of back at the camp helping Nadia and Felix prepare the Republic soldiers for the upcoming combat. She had confidence that they had things covered without her - and she’d brought her commlink with her, just in case there was an emergency.

After this was solved, when Revan was stopped, the galaxy would return to normal, and that meant that the Empire and Republic would continue their war. There would be no more time for Jedi and Sith to exist together and talk. The Barsen’thor wanted to make the most of the time that they had.

“This should be the last sensor.” Occlus said, sticking the device to a tree trunk and activating it.

“Oh. Really?” The Barsen’thor asked, closing the distance between them, “Are you sure that there isn’t another left?”

“Yes.”

The Barsen’thor had never been the type to openly display her emotions - whether that was due to her Jedi upbringing or something inherent to her was anyone’s guess, but either way, it was how things were - yet Occlus picked up on her disappointment.

“If we take the long path back over the ridge we can scout for Revanites.” Occlus said, speaking casually as if her solution to the Barsen’thor’s problem was entirely unintentional.

“That sounds wise.” The Barsen’thor responded, her tone similarly casual.

The pair began the walk back side by side. They both kept their senses extended, in case there really were Revanites in the area, but neither truly expected an attack.

For a while, silence stretched between them. The Barsen’thor had no issue with silence, but she couldn’t get the thought that she was wasting precious time out of her head. She wanted to be able to talk to Occlus - she wanted to discuss _everything_ , to truly understand the other woman and Sith philosophy. She didn’t want to lose this opportunity and return to her old life as if nothing had happened.

But no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t come up with a casual, natural way to start a conversation. So, in a moment of desperation, she blurted out:

“Teach me how to use lightning.”

Occlus stopped walking and turned to her. “What?”

Well, the Barsen’thor thought, at least I have her attention. She tried again, her tone more even, “I would appreciate it if you could teach me how to create Force Lightning.” Then, for good measure: “Please.”

Occlus continued to stare at the Barsen’thor, before she burst out laughing, doubling over and clutching her chest. The Barsen’thor watched. She didn’t think it had been _that_ funny.

“I- I’m sorry,” Occlus gasped out, her voice distorted by her mask, “You, a prestigious member of the Jedi Council, want _me_ , a Sith- a member of the Dark Council- to teach you how to _use Force Lightning_?”

The Barsen’thor waited for Occlus to straighten up again before replying, “Yes.”

For a moment, the Barsen’thor thought that Occlus was going to start laughing again, but to her surprise she said, “Okay then.”

“Force Lightning is a Dark Side ability. You need to use your emotions- your passions- for it. Find your passion, nurture it, and when it has grown too powerful to be contained within you - release it.” As Occlus spoke, she demonstrated her power, lightning sparking from her fingertips before harmlessly fizzling out. Clearly, Occlus had great control of her power.

The Barsen’thor listened to her words attentively, then focused inside. _Passion_. It wasn’t the Jedi way, she knew, but she also knew that to fully understand the Jedi way, she had to understand other ways. How could she be certain that her Order was right if she refused to experiment? If she refused to listen to the teachings of others?

The Jedi had taught her acceptance. That included the Sith.

So she shut her eyes gently and focused, searching around inside her for something similar to a passion. After a few moments of concentrated silence, she sighed softly and opened her eyes, smiling at Occlus apologetically.

“I apologise. As Jedi, we are taught to remain balanced and grounded. It seems I was naive to assume that it would be possible for me to learn this.”

Occlus considered her for a moment, before speaking up again, “Say, what does Barsen’thor mean?”

The Barsen’thor blinked, “Well… it means Warden of the Order. Why?”

“And what does _that_ mean?” Occlus asked, ignoring the Barsen’thor’s question.

“It’s… complicated. In truth, it doesn’t really mean anything. It’s something of an empty title.”

“Really? Then why do you wear it like a badge of pride?”

“It doesn’t have a true meaning- it’s purely honourary- but…” The Barsen’thor trailed off, “...I have attributed to it my own meaning.”

“Okay. What’s that meaning?”

The Barsen’thor paused, trying to work out how to phrase it. “Protection, I suppose. As a Jedi - as a Consular - protection has always been my goal. I have been lucky to have been given many opportunities to achieve my goal. As Barsen’thor, I am the Warden of the Order- I choose to interpret this as being the one to protect the Order itself.” And to protect from the Order, but that part went unsaid. The Barsen’thor liked Darth Occlus, but there was no need to tell a Sith of Jedi politics.

Occlus leaned back. “You define yourself as a protector, and yet you think you have no passion?”

“I’m not sure if I understand.”

“Think about your Order. Think about threats you have faced before on their behalf. Start with just one, the first that comes to your mind when you think of your defence of the Jedi. Remember how it _felt_.”

Cautiously, the Barsen’thor shut her eyes again, this time reaching back into the past. Her mind skipped past the more recent Assault on Tython and the Dread War, and she found herself settling on an experience from six years in the past.

In her mind's eye, she was a freshly minted Jedi again, traveling the galaxy in search of the Plaguemaster, trying to protect as many of the Jedi Masters as she could along the way. She could remember the pain of it, the feeling of exhaustion down to her core, determined to save them even at the cost of her own strength.

She hadn’t been the Barsen’thor then. She had been a young Jedi, on her first true mission. She had been determined to help because she was the only one who could, but… that wasn’t the full truth, was it?

Jedi were supposed to put others before themselves. _A Jedi’s life is sacrifice_ , was a saying that she had heard often in her youth, but she hadn’t been acting from pure belief in the Jedi way.

No. The true reason she had been so determined to help had been… Yuon.

Yuon hadn’t been her Master for long, but the Barsen’thor had respected her a great deal. She cared about her. Privately, to herself, she would even go so far as to say that she had grown _attached_ \- and that was why she had fought so hard to save the Masters.

Because how could she protect Yuon, then abandon the others suffering from the same fate? How could she accept that Yuon had never intended to harm anyone - had never intended to harm _her_ \- and then condemn the other Masters for actions that had not been their own?

The Barsen’thor had never been simply following her duty. In the beginning, her goal had been to protect Yuon, and from that desire had come everything else.

Saving Yuon led to saving the other Masters, led to saving Parkanas, led to fighting for the Children, led to saving Master Syo - and led to here.

The Barsen’thor could remember her struggles. She could remember her drive, to save those who were unable to save themselves. To restore their choice, their ability for self-determination - and _that_ , she realised suddenly, was her passion.

“I understand.” The Barsen’thor said.

The Emperor had stolen the lives of so many. His corruption bled into the stars, killing and enslaving countless individuals, and that was something that the Barsen’thor could not allow to stand.

She would stop Revan- if at all possible, she would return his choice to them- but her true goal was the Emperor. 

One day, she would make him pay.

She felt a strange curling in her chest, a powerful feeling making itself known. Usually, she would recognise it and allow it to pass, filling herself with thoughts of the Light and allowing herself to balance herself once again - but this time, she ignored her years of Jedi instruction. She allowed her walls to collapse, and let that feeling spread from her chest, growing stronger as it travelled, until it reached her fingertips.

The Barsen’thor’s eyes snapped open and she stared at her hand, where her power had collected, in shock. Dancing across her fingers were angry sparks of electricity.

Occlus clapped her hands together, and the moment was broken, the sparks of electricity fizzling out and the feeling in the Barsen’thor’s chest dying down.

“You did it.” Occlus said, sounding genuinely impressed. “I wasn’t certain that you would. How did it feel?”

“...Strange.” The Barsen’thor answered honestly, letting her hand drop to her side after a moment. “I don’t believe I have experienced anything like that before. Not since… not since I was a youngling. It was raw, untamed power.”

“Indeed. You have mastered the Light Side of the Force, but you remain an initiate to the Dark Side. It will take practice to learn how to control it.”

“I thought that a lack of control was necessary to master the Dark Side?”

Occlus laughed. “Is that what they tell you? No. Control is necessary - but not the type of control you Jedi would believe in. We wield our passions as weapons, but we do not allow them to control us.”

The Barsen’thor thought of her own passion, of her desire to protect the vulnerable and to defeat the Emperor, and she nodded. “I think I can understand that.”

The pair remained standing in the clearing for a few moments, before Occlus shrugged. “We had best return before Ashara tries to find me.”

The Barsen’thor followed a few steps behind Occlus, speaking up after they had travelled a few paces. “Thank you for teaching me, Occlus.”

“...It was my pleasure.” There was a strange note to Occlus’s voice. “It isn’t often we meet Jedi that are willing to listen to reason.”

It was an odd perception of matters, the Barsen’thor thought, but she concluded that Occlus may have a point. The Sith weren’t the only ones who refused to accept new concepts.

She would think on that.


End file.
